The Civil Guard arrested a 17-year-old boy in Orihuela as the alleged perpetrator of the murder of a 15-year-old girl, his ex-partner. Another man, aged 42, was arrested in the south of Tenerife for trying to kill his partner, a 33-year-old woman, in front of her one-year-old daughter. The Government Delegation against Gender Violence confirmed the case of this Sunday in Estepa as a sexist crime: a man killed his wife. This is how November 25 began, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, an emblematic date on which feminist organizations call for marches and rallies. Thousands of people take to the streets of cities and towns to denounce machismo and its most extreme version, sexist violence.
“We are not all here, those who were murdered have disappeared”, is one of the slogans heard at the start of the demonstration called by the 8M Commission in Madrid. Ana Useros, spokesperson for the 8M Commission, assures that this year’s motto – “Together, fear changes sides” – means “that to end sexual, gender-based and gender-based violence”, the solution must be “structural”. In the capital, as for two years, two different marches are taking place. The other is convened by the Madrid Feminist Forum. Its spokesperson, Carmen Flores, also discusses the structural nature of the violence and the solutions: “It comes from the patriarchal system and this is what we must fight, which is why our motto is “Fight sexism”.
Also in Valencia there are two separate calls this 25N. This does not happen in most cities, such as Barcelona, Bilbao, Seville, Toledo, Oviedo or Cádiz. In the Toledo march is Consuelo, 87 years old, crutch in hand. He came from the city of Alameda de la Sagra because “everything is fine now” and he is “at his best” to denounce: “We must make a fuss to end injustices.” Hundreds of people participated in the protest call of the 8M Platform of Toledo, although this year the PP and the Vox City Council decided not to organize the historic demonstration of the local Women’s Council.
This year’s 25N comes amid a new wave of reports of sexual harassment and violence. The case of Errejón gave rise to another rise in noise: the testimonies of several women on the behavior exercised by the former deputy and his resignation sparked the dissemination of hundreds of stories of women reporting intense violence variable in their families, with their partners, in their workplace or on the street.
The case of Gisèle Pelicot, the woman raped by her husband and dozens of men, is also very present in the streets of this 25N. The motto with which the coordinator of the feminist organizations of Zaragoza called her rally refers to the words of Pelicot, who spoke asking for shame to change sides: “Against shame, not even an ounce of patience”.
With information from Francisca Bravo and Candela Canales
